Featured Analysis01-Jul-09: Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation announced today the launch of CAPA Aircraft Advisory, India’s first professional end-to-end aircraft acquisition service. This unique solution is designed to de-mystify the process of selecting and acquiring, an aircraft for private or general use, be it a business jet, a turboprop or a helicopter. 19-Jun-09: China’s airline industry faces an enormously challenging year. Geared for growth, under-capitalised and unrestructured, the sector has been rocked by external events and economic malaise, while internal rivalries and policy inertia threaten to undermine what on paper appears a potential aviation growth bonanza. We review China’s aviation sector prospects in this SWOT analysis. 03-Jun-09: Micheal O'Leary's years of shimmying and pulsating have finally worked. His rain dance has brought a flood of almost biblical proportions. Economic misery across Europe has most of its airlines in a fight for near term survival. Not Ryanair. It is one of the only airlines poised to make money this year. But some significant medium term battles are looming. Economic recovery is probably Ryanair's greatest problem and the key reason behind O'Leary's threat to buy Lufthansa. In this report, we review Ryanair's enduring strengths - its low fares super brand and relentless focus on low costs; its progress in identifying weaknesses in its model and turning them into strengths; how it is leveraging its size to develop market opportunities; and its effective strategy of neutralising threats. 29-May-09: In the last six months or so, as the economic downturn has really begun to bite, the prospects for airport privatisation have reduced accordingly. The Chicago Midway deal fell through, the Prague offer has been postponed, and the Gatwick sale descended into near farce as only one consortium was left with a bid still on the table. But the business is resilient as it proved after September 2001 when the IPO on Airports of Thailand, the sale of Sydney Airport and the PPP on the two main (Greek) Cyprus airports were all delayed – they all went through eventually. Despite the credit crunch new investors have continued to emerge and there are still a substantial number of smaller deals at the regional level, especially in emerging countries. 02-Jul-09: Both Jetstar and Virgin Blue reported increases in passenger traffic in May-2009, led by increases in international traffic, as both carriers continue to expand their international operations. 02-Jul-09: Qantas Group announced on 26-Jun-09 it had reached a mutual agreement with Boeing to defer the delivery of 15 B787-8 aircraft by four years and cancel orders for 15 B787-9 aircraft, previously scheduled for delivery in 2014/2015. 02-Jul-09: During the last five years Central and Eastern Europe has been regarded as a hotspot both for budget airline growth and for airport investment. But the demise of Meinl Airports in Apr-09 and the continuing difficulties being experienced by the LCC SkyEurope have begun to cast doubt on the previously assumed potential of the region. 20-Feb-09: The Taiwanese economy is in serious strife, which could trigger further engagement with the Mainland. The island’s fourth quarter GDP plunged an unprecedented 8.4% and further slides are possible this year as the island’s manufacturing-based economy suffers amid the global economic slump. Direct aviation links, enhanced in Dec-08 with the commencement of weekday cross-Strait services, are expected to strengthen as the economic storm rages. 16-Jun-09: Despite slowing traffic in 2008 and into 2009, India’s aviation infrastructure, particularly its Air Traffic Control systems, remains under pressure, both to deal with the level of traffic in India and to comply with international standards. 01-Jul-09: June was the month when economic green shoots failed to bloom, swine flu didn’t stop spreading, IATA doubled its net loss forecast, the World Bank almost doubled the size of the expected fall in global GDP this year, the B787 failed to fly, the Paris air show was a non-event apart from a few notable engine orders by Middle East airlines, and there were two major air crashes, involving an Air France A330 and a Yemenia Airways A310. |